The present disclosure relates to a gas turbine engine and, more particularly, to a non-metallic engine case inlet compression seal therefor.
Gas turbine engines, such as those which power modern military aircraft, include a compressor section to pressurize a supply of air, a combustor section to burn a hydrocarbon fuel in the presence of the pressurized air, and a turbine section to extract energy from the resultant combustion gases and generate thrust. Downstream of the turbine section, an augmentor section, or “afterburner”, is operable to selectively increase thrust. The increase in thrust is produced when fuel is injected into the core gases downstream of the turbine section and burned with the oxygen contained therein to generate a second combustion that is then passed through a variable area nozzle system.
In gas turbine powered aircraft, especially military aircraft, location of the gas turbine engine within the airframe reduces drag and signature. The internal engine location, however, necessarily requires airflow to be routed through an intake duct in the airframe to the engine. The intake duct is typically integrated with the airframe and interfaces with the engine case inlet via a compression seal interface to effectively communicate airflow to the engine. The compression seal interface often includes a K-seal mounted to the airframe and a J-seal mounted to the engine. Typically, the K-seal is non-metallic and the J-seal are manufactured of a titanium material. Although effective, the J-seal may be relatively difficult to manufacture and may be susceptible to cycle fatigue.